Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: G Defender
by Rad Rider
Summary: This is the story of Lt. Aris Primera, pilot of the long-forgotten G-Defender and inspiration for the A.L.I.C.E. System (Original Story - 1st of 2 parts)


Description:  
  
This is the story of Lt. Aris Primera, pilot of the long-forgotten G- Defender and inspiration for the A.L.I.C.E. System (Original Story – 1 of 2 Parts)  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
Mobile Suit Gundam, all it's related trademarks and copyrights all belong to Sunrise and/or Bandai.  
  
Story:  
  
G-Defender: Part 1 of 2  
  
Location: *Classified* December XX 0079  
  
"There's talk that there's going to be a push in our direction for the Zeon retreat," says a cadet.  
  
"No wonder. I'd say they're on the run from the White Base and that Newtype of ours, Amuro Rei," replies another.  
  
"Maybe that's a good thing for you, but that just means we gotta be ready for a fight if they ever get here."  
  
"You're probably right."  
  
Aris continues to walk wordlessly past the cadets. He's heard about this before and he, too, is uncertain about the colony's future. The war is coming to a close, he understands. The fall of Solomon had been a big blow to Zeon and it had forced them to retreat to A Baoa Qu. However, intelligence had gathered that a portion of Zeon's remaining fleet would attempt to create a foothold in the colonies surrounding Solomon – this colony is one of them.  
  
He shakes his head to clear his mind, as he punches in the code of the lock on his door. At that moment, the call he's been waiting for arrives, with the caller easily identifiable from the distinctive ring of Mozart's Ode to Joy. As the door closes behind him, he lazily sits on the metal stool that came standard in all Federation Officer's Quarters.  
  
"Hello Mom," he says, smiling.  
  
"Hello son," the familiar female voice greets back, giggling.  
  
"Sis! How'd you get a hold of Mom's phone?!"  
  
His sister bursts into laughter, saying, "Would you believe it? Mom left it with me since she says she has to go do some emergency shopping. Personally, I think it's because of the grocer's three-hour sale today. She asked me to call you instead."  
  
"Is that so? Well then, how are things at home?"  
  
They talk for the next hour and a half, with topics ranging from Mom's new hair dryer to his sister's new boyfriend and finally to how often he used to get teased with having a name that sounds similar to a girl's name.  
  
"You're a 19-year-old lieutenant in the Navy, Aris! Why don't you file a change-of-name or something? I'm pretty sure some girl will start stalking you if your name becomes Michael or Rocky or something!" she teases. "Besides, I heard there's a boy somewhere whose name is Camille, and that's a name no one will even think of belonging to a guy! So, consider yourself lucky," she says, this time matter-of-factly.  
  
"Camille? Seriously? Man, that's rough. I guess I'm lucky to be an officer and never get called a girl in my face! I remember when you used to treat me like a sister –"  
  
"Sorry to cut you off, brother dear, but our beloved parents are home. I have to go open up the garage and help them unload. I'll tell them you're doing fine, okay? Bye, bro! Oh, and remember, we only talked for a few minutes, right?"  
  
He laughs. "Right, but it's not my problem when Mom sees the bill. Bye!"  
  
He hangs up the phone and stretches his muscles. He grins as he lies down on his bed, drifting to sleep as he reminisces his childhood on the colony.  
  
He does not remain asleep for long. Awakening from his dreams by the wail of the base's klaxon, he registers the voice of the operator over the public address.  
  
"Enemy mobile suits are attempting to enter the colony! All pilots report to the hanger immediately! This is not a drill! I repeat – this is not a drill! Enemy mobile suits..."  
  
He jumps up and suits up under a minute, as his training has conditioned him to do so. Still, he is nervous, as this will be his first actual combat mission. Before, the space garrison had always been able to repel attacks and was continually reinforced for the next skirmishes, virtually labeling the ground garrison as unnecessary. Now, with the enemy already breaking through the corridors into the colony, he begins to wonder what happened to the cadets he had recently turned over to space duty. He shakes his head to perish the thought. He knows that, he, for all the training in the world, is still afraid to die.  
  
"If those cadets are dead, I'm sure they did their best, " he manages to convince himself, as he runs straight to the hanger.  
  
He rushes through the catwalks leading to his GM's cockpit. He glances at the other bays and notices that only his squad leader's mobile suit is active. He ponders waiting for the other two pilots in the squad but reminds himself that in battle, time is of the utmost essence.  
  
"Lieutenant Aris Primera, deploying! Forming up!"  
  
"I know it's your first day on the real job, Lieutenant, but stay sharp," his squad leader advises. "Whatever happens, our main objective is to keep them away from the civilian areas."  
  
"Roger that Captain!"  
  
The unit exits the hanger. The Captain points forward to the entry elevator.  
  
"We have to get into position over there," he transmits, pointing to a nearby command building that has a good view of the elevator. "We may not be able to stop them from entering, but we'll sure as hell stop them from getting off that elevator!"  
  
"You got that right, sir!"  
  
"To positions!" cries the Captain. He relays his orders to the base, to be relayed to the rest of the squad.  
  
Aris pilots his mobile suit to the appointed building. He silently thanks the higher powers that the last fleet to reinforce the colony had extra beam rifles to spare. Thankful but not complacent, he drops his mobile suit to the ground, laying the tower shield on it's side, converting it into a stable rifle rack. They haven't been told exactly how many are infiltrating the colony, but with only one unit present to defend it, they know that chances cannot be taken.  
  
"The fastest way to finish this is to snipe them from here," he thinks to himself. "I'm pretty sure that's what the Captain's strategy is. I have to be careful not to hit anything else."  
  
"Captain," he calls, "I'm in position. Where's the rest of the squad?"  
  
"You're just lucky you're a light-sleeper, Primera," says the sound of his squad mate over the communication lines.  
  
The other two GMs nonchalantly walk outside the hanger as the other one says, "Yeah, Lieutenant, everyone knows you barely sleep at night since you're always dreaming during – "  
  
His transmission ends abruptly as a long beam of light tears through the mobile suit's torso. The other suit is lucky enough to merely be launched into foliage by the resulting explosion.  
  
Aris is momentarily distracted by the glow of the flames that have engulfed the hanger. Regaining himself, he looks back at his monitors to confirm his suspicions.  
  
"Sniper at the elevator! It's a Gelgoog, Jaeger type!" he bellows.  
  
He has only seen these suits in his training manuals but knows well enough what one sniper can do. He decides to counter-snipe, attempting to do the same thing as the White Dingo pilot who took down an entire Apsarus on Earth.  
  
"Then again," he remembers, "the pilot had an actual sniper rifle and not just these beam rifles. I'm in range, at least. Time to get me my first kill, without getting killed in the process."  
  
No sooner has he finished his thoughts than three more Zeon mobile suits appear at the top of the lift.  
  
"Confirmed. One Gelgoog. Additional: two Zaku II's with bazookas. The last one is a... it can't be! It's a Tri-Stars Rick Dom!" said the Captain, his voice echoing despair.  
  
"I thought they were already dead!" cries the other surviving member of the squad.  
  
Aris feels a drop of sweat fall from his brow. Aiming carefully, he lets loose a shot that scores a direct hit on the cockpit of the enemy sniper, taking it out before it gets a chance to fire again.  
  
"Sniper down!" he cries, "That Rick Dom's coming in fast! I need backup!"  
  
"Get out of there, Lieutenant! The Zakus are firing at you!" says the Captain, as he valiantly tries to distract them by firing in front of their cameras.  
  
"Yes, sir! Falling back!"  
  
He manages to pick himself up and run, leaving the shield behind. He hears it shatter into a thousand fragments as two explosive shells strike it almost simultaneously. He continues on until he finds a corner to turn and hides behind the communications building. He looks around the corner and sees the two Zakus heading his way.  
  
"Rick Dom headed your way, Captain!"  
  
"Roger that, Lieutenant. Ensign, follow me!"  
  
"Roger!" replies the Ensign.  
  
Feeling his heart beat faster than it once did for an old flame, Lt. Aris Primera feels the adrenaline rushing through his body. He is aware that once the rush has completely overtaken him, he cannot assure his own safety. He tries desperately to control his body, pressuring himself even more as the enemy mobile suits come looking for him. Aris loses control and lets off a beam, destroying the arm of a Zaku that once held a bazooka.  
  
"No time to think, Aris. Shoot! Shoot!" he says, psyching himself up.  
  
With the adrenaline directing his every move, the mobile suit responds going out into the open, shooting beam after beam after beam. He starts to believe in luck, even statistics, when one of the beams destroys the damaged Zaku all the while remaining where he was as volley upon volley of shells pass above and around him. As the explosion provides a momentary distraction, he once again ducks behind the building, falling back, as his previous shelter is near collapse.  
  
"Relax, Aris. Relax." he tells himself. "Only one shot left and I can't get back to the Armory. Guess I'll have to see how good I am with a beam saber."  
  
He cautiously goes around the communications building. As he proceeds to draw his GM's lone beam saber, he hears the Captain directing the Ensign.  
  
"He's got a beam rifle, so I'll get his attention while to go around to the right and flank him. Got that, Ensign?"  
  
"Going around now, Captain."  
  
"The others seem to be doing well," Aris muses.  
  
He shakes his head immediately to regain his concentration, knowing full well that one unguarded moment is time enough to kill him. Rounding the corner to where he believes the other enemy was, he overhears the Captain executing the plan.  
  
"Come here you... now!" the Captain screams.  
  
As the Captain moves his mobile suit out of hiding, he sees the Rick Dom not pointing his rifle in his direction, but in the direction of the Ensign!  
  
"Take this!" declares the Ensign, as he, too, moves out of hiding.  
  
The Ensign does not even get to fire his rifle as the Rick Dom's beam blasts his suit's chest into oblivion. The surrounding flora serves to further fan the fires, illuminating the once dark area. In that illumination, the Captain feels the darkness of the Dom. Disbelief fills the Captain's mind as he takes a shot at the opposing suit.  
  
"You... you're a Newtype!" he manages to say, as the Dom deftly dodges the beam and fires back, hitting the Captain's cockpit.  
  
"A Newtype?!" Aris exclaims.  
  
It is all he could think of as he brings down his saber on the unsuspecting Zaku that had allowed it to be distracted by the destruction of the two other GMs. Evading the explosion, Aris cautions towards the Captain's last position. He sees an arena of flame, encircling the Rick Dom that has now taken notice of him. He quickly jumps back, behind nearby debris, scared with the knowledge that he has no chance against a Newtype with an upgraded Rick Dom.  
  
He feels the Dom's pilot trying to pressure him into submission, into a state of utter hopelessness. Fighting the feeling with all his might, he runs, not knowing where he goes as the Newtype feeds him images of death and despair. He knows the Rick Dom is chasing him and he needs shelter – shelter from war, from fear, from death.  
  
"Yes, I need shelter," he thinks.  
  
Aris regains his senses as the Newtype breaks the link. He looks around to see that the Newtype had brought him to the one place he was sure to feel safe – his home.  
  
With his back to his family's house, he asks the enemy pilot, "Why have you brought me here?"  
  
He hears the Newtype's response in his mind: "I didn't bring you here, you did. Don't you think it's just fitting for you to die along with your family? You can thank me in the after life."  
  
Aris ducks his mobile suit behind the next block's wide road between abandoned tenement buildings. The Newtype again reinforces his will on Aris, flooding the latter's mind with the future that the former has lined up for him. Aris draws upon all his will, steadily losing ground in his mind. With his remaining mental strength, he draws the GM's beam rifle, pointing it at the spot where the Newtype shows him he'll be.  
  
The Newtype turns the corner and Aris fires off his last beam wide. The Newtype pushes forward and the right, not minding the building that Aris has unintentionally turned to rubble. With more mental power, the enemy pilot makes Aris scream in pain as he brings down his heat rod. Sensing that Aris would counter with the saber in the GM's other hand, he backs off. Aris lifts his saber up in an attempt to hit the enemy cockpit but only manages to slash the building to his right. The Rick Dom looks up in horror as the rubble from the building collapses on top of it, as escape becomes impossible on all sides.  
  
Freed from the mental shackles, Aris regains his composure and says, "This... colony... belongs.... to the... Federation. Victory is mine."  
  
"Is it?" asks the enemy. "What if we both lost?"  
  
"I did not lose to you."  
  
It is the last thing he says before the Rick Dom self-destructs, scattering parts of his GM off, with the beam rifle being tossed on top of his family's house, exploding with a loud blast. Aris, himself, is tossed and turned in his cockpit, as what remains of his mobile suit is flung far into the civilian areas.  
  
He watches his home burn down on his screen for a mere moment before he passes out.  
  
End of Part 1 


End file.
